Secret Connection
by Gunnery Sergeant
Summary: 3rd story in the "Reconnection" universe. Gibbs is forced to reveal his real nature to the team in order to save Tony's life. How will they react? Gibbs X Tony mild slash.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I wasn't expecting to post this story so soon after Heartland Connection, but last Saturday my beloved 18yo cat died after slowly fading away for hours and I need to keep myself busy in order not to think about it. Also getting reviews always make me smile, so…here you go.

**Secret Connection**

**By Gunnery Sergeant**

_Sequel to "Reconnection, Tony Version" and "Heartland Connection"_

Thanks to Finlaure for the betareading!

**----**

Everything had happened so fast Gibbs barely had the time to understand what happened.

One moment, Tony, Ziva, Abby, Ducky, McGee and he were walking in the tunnel that led from the NCIS building to the parking garage, talking about the upcoming Easter lunch they were organizing at his place. The next, just after his brain registered the smell of gas in the air, he found himself slammed against a wall, his breath knocked out by the force of the impact.

He barely had the time to lie down and cover his head with his arms before parts of the ceiling over him collapsed in a cloud of dust and debris.

When calm returned, Gibbs rose to his knees, coughing, and assessed the situation.

They were trapped inside the tunnel. The ceiling had collapsed both in front and behind them, blocking them in a windowless rectangle of concrete and bricks. The emergency lights were on and one of the lateral walls had lost part of its facing, baring a water-leaking pipe.

He could see his people laying or rising on their knees a few meters from him and he called, "Are you all right?" before he started coughing again.

Gibbs walked toward the pipe and cupped his hands to collect the water. As hoped, it was clean and pure, and he drank it to free his mouth and throat from all the dust he had breathed in.

"Yes, Boss, we are," McGee answered, coughing, "at least Abby and I."

"I'm fine too, Gibbs," Ziva croaked. "But I think my left arm might be broken."

"Let me check you, my dear," Ducky replied, brushing the dust away from his suit. "I'm fine too, Jethro."

"Good. There is clean water here, if you need it." Gibbs answered before realizing something. He hadn't heard Tony's voice.

"Are you okay DiNozzo? Where are you?" he asked aloud, as he scanned the tunnel looking for the younger man.

"I am…here…Boss," was the feeble answer, coming from behind a heap of debris, and Gibbs ran there, followed by the others.

He felt the blood chill in his veins when he saw his mate's condition. Tony was sprawled on the floor, almost nailed to the ground by a one meter long piece of broken metallic pipe. The ugly thing protruded from his chest, moving up and down with each of his raspy breaths.

"Ducky!" Gibbs called urgently, as he fell on his knees near Tony. He wanted to help his mate, but he didn't have any idea of what he could do.

"Don't…feel…too…good…," Tony whispered, as a bloody foam appeared on his lips.

"Move away, Jethro! Let me see him," Ducky ordered, and Gibbs did as asked and sat down at his mate's other side. He looked on with anguish as Ducky took a pair of scissors from his ever present medical bag and cut away the shirt around Tony's wound.

Gibbs heard Abby's cry and McGee's gasp as they saw the extent of the wound revealed. The piece of pipe had penetrated deeply into Tony's torso, and looked to have caused massive internal damage.

Ducky raised his anguished eyes to meet Gibbs' and shook his head. "I can't do anything to help him, Jethro. I can just give him something for the pain."

He just stared, as near him Abby started to sob.

It couldn't be happening. His lover couldn't be dying.

"Boss…" Tony rasped, and Gibbs looked down at him.

"Yes, Tony?" he answered and leaned forward.

"Don't…stop…living…again…after…I'm…gone…Remember? You…promised…" Tony gasped slowly in pain.

"I did, but it's not the time to talk about it. Help is coming."

"Not…a…good…liar. Love it…in you…Love you…Love you…so much…."

"I love you too, Tony," Gibbs answered, taking his mate's too cool hand in his own, uncaring of their audience.

"Kiss me...want to go…with the taste…of your lips…on mine…" Tony rasped, the look in his eyes almost feverish.

"No," Gibbs shook his head. "You aren't going anywhere. Do you hear me, DiNozzo? You. Won't. Die." He repeated the same words he had said when Tony had been fighting against the plague, and just like that day, he lightly smacked his mate's head to reinforce his order, even if it was more a caress than a slap.

Tony smiled weakly before he grimaced, "Will do…my best. Now kiss me…please…"

Fighting back his tears, Gibbs leaned over the younger man and kissed him softly, with no pressure. He felt Tony's tongue press against his lips, asking for entry, and he opened his mouth, ready to receive it. But his mate's head lolled away before he could complete the gesture.

"Tony!" Gibbs cried anguished, then sighed in relief when he saw the younger man still struggled to breathe…but for how much longer?

He turned his head toward the garage end of the tunnel. His acute hearing could perceive voices and noises.

"Rescue has arrived outside," he said to Ducky. "How long can Tony hold on?"

"A few minutes, Jethro. No more than ten," Ducky answered sadly.

"You have nothing to help him with?" Ziva asked, her eyes two dark pools of pain.

"No. I just have some morphine, a stimulant, bandages, antiseptic, the necessities to apply stitches…and nothing of this can help Anthony now."

"But I can," Gibbs said, and his voice echoed as loud as a bang in the silent tunnel. What he planned to do went against everything he had been taught by his mother first and Bill Hendricks later, but it was the only thing he could do.

"Of course you can help him, Jethro. Stay near him, hold his hand…It's clear you two love each other very much – I can't believe I've never noticed it – and love can give him the strength to hold on…" Ducky smiled weakly, first at him, then at the others, but Gibbs could see in his eyes it was a hopeless lie.

"No, Duck. I can help him with more than love…" Gibbs let go of Tony's hand and slapped the unconscious man on his cheek.

"Tony!" he called loudly, "DiNozzo! Wake up! Open your eyes!"

Ducky's hand reached out and grabbed Gibbs by the wrist before he could slap Tony again.

"What are you doing, Jethro?!" the M.E. hissed, "Anthony's pain is excruciating! Let him pass away in peace."

"No. He must be awake! I can't help him if he isn't conscious!" He freed his arm and slapped Tony again. "Come on, DiNozzo!"

Gibbs saw Ducky give a look to Ziva and McGee and then tilt his head in the direction of the hysterically grieved man.

"Don't even think to try and take me away from my mate. It would end badly for you," he growled, almost animalistic, and stared hard at his two agents.

Ziva and McGee nodded and Gibbs turned toward Ducky. "Give him the stimulant."

"What?! Jethro, you are out of your mind! I know this must be terrible for you, but there is nothing you can do to help him! It is not humanly possible!" Ducky cried with his voice full of despair.

"_Humanly_, that's the key word here, Doctor. 'Cause, you see, I'm not human…" and before Ducky could say a single word about his mental state, Gibbs raised his upper lip and bared his fangs.

----------------

The second and last part will be up soon. Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for all your reviews. They made me smile. :) Please keep them comimg!!!

------------------------------------------------

"Good Lord!" Ducky exclaimed and paled, while Abby gasped aloud and Ziva and McGee stared at him, shocked.

"I'm a vampire," Gibbs said in an even tone, "and my blood can help Tony, but he must be awake to swallow it. So Duck, give him the stimulant. Please."

Jethro's old friend studied him for a long moment, the doctor's keen eyes locked with his own as if the M.E. was trying to read inside his mind or soul. Then Ducky nodded curtly and quickly filled a syringe. He injected it into Tony and said, "I'm not sure it will work."

Gibbs nodded and as he waited for the drug to act, he took off his overcoat and jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. His eyes darted from Tony to Ziva, Abby and McGee, who sat there and observed him with a mix of awe, shock and fascination. He was pleased to see there was no fear on their faces, which boded well for his future relationship with them. It might even be that he would not have to wipe off their memories before they left the tunnel.

For his entire life he had followed his rule number four religiously. The best way to keep a secret is to keep it to yourself. The Second best was to tell one other person if you must. There was no third best. But now, in just a few seconds, he had revealed his most precious secret to four people. Four people he trusted with his life, but wasn't yet sure he could trust with the lives of all the vampires out there, vampires that counted on him to do what was necessary to protect them and their families.

A low moan recalled Gibbs' attention to the present and he looked down at Tony. His mate blinked his eyes and focused them on him.

"Boss…Jethro…your fangs…love you…this…way…"

Gibbs smirked at Tony's comment, then bit down on his left wrist with his sharp fangs and brought it over his mate's mouth.

"Drink it, Tony," he said, both and order and a plea. "It will help you."

It was something he had done once or twice in the past, dripping some blood in the mouths of barely conscious or delirious wounded Marines to keep them alive as they waited for rescue. But it had never felt like this. Now Gibbs was going to give his blood to help the man he loved; to heal the man that by loving him had already healed him in return.

As he showed again his absolute trust, Tony opened his lips, and swallowed the blood Jethro dripped into his mouth. When the wound stopped bleeding, Gibbs bit his right wrist and put it over his mate's mouth.

"Drink Tony," he coaxed gently. "Drink it all."

Tony did, and when this wound also stopped bleeding, his mate licked his lips and whispered, "You taste sweet," before he closed his eyes again.

Gibbs smiled slightly at Tony's comment, but then his grin broadened, because his mate's breathing was no longer as laboured as before.

His eyes slid down Tony's body and he watched, almost holding his breath, as the wound started to heal. Bone and muscle reformed. The flesh sealed, the skin grew back and the sharp piece of pipe was expelled from the now healthy body.

Tony was no longer unconscious, but slept peacefully and Gibbs decided to let him rest, as he concentrated on other, more pressing things.

The atmosphere in the tunnel was so thick with shock, amazement, tension and disbelief one could have cut it with a knife.

Gibbs could hear the sound of pneumatic hammers beyond the wall of debris on the garage side of the tunnel and he knew it was just a matter of time before they were freed.

He needed to address the situation with his team now. He needed to know if he could trust them with his secret or if he would need to put all of them in trance and wipe off their memories.

The silence stretched and Gibbs realized his people were expecting him to make the first move. He sat more comfortably on the ground; conscious of the way four pair of eyes followed his every move and said calmly, "What you saw wasn't a trick of your mind or a collective hallucination. I'm a vampire, although I'm quite different from the monsters described in movies and books. The chief difference is that I don't hunt people to drink their blood or kill them. As you all know because you've seen me countless of times, I eat the same things you do. I just need to eat a lot of meat; otherwise I became anaemic and weak. There are other things that make me different from humans, but I think it would be best if you ask me questions about what you want to know and I answer them. It will save time."

There was a moment of silence, and then Abby raised her hand, as a kid at school.

Gibbs smiled and said, "Yes, Abs?"

"How long have you been a vampire? Who turned you?"

"I was born one, Abby. Contrary to the myth, vampires cannot turn humans by draining their blood. We aren't the undead creatures pictured by the movies. We are living, breathing people just as humans are—we're just different."

Abby nodded with a smile, "I like that. Different is good."

"However vampires can kill humans by draining their blood, yes?" Ziva interjected her voice full of speculation as McGee and Abby stared at her, as if they were horrified by what she had just implied.

"Yes, we can kill humans in that way just as humans can kill one another by slashing throats, stabbing hearts, breaking necks, shooting heads…must I go on?"

"No, Jethro, we understand your point," Ducky said in a placating tone. "You are saying that, just as there are good and bad humans, there are good and bad vampires too."

"Yes, with the difference that most vampires, even those 'bad' as you called them, usually consider the safety of their kin of the utmost importance. Hence they refrain from killing people by draining their blood, because it could attract too much attention. Of course, there have been cases of really screwed up vampires, but they are rare. As for myself, I've killed as a Marine sniper. I've killed as a NCIS agent. I've even killed as a vengeful husband and father, but I have never killed a human as a vampire—and I never will."

"We believe you, Jethro," Ducky said after an exchanged look with the others. "But let's stop talking about death, let's talk about life. What you did to Anthony was…a medical miracle. I've never seen something like that. But how was it possible? How can your blood do that?"

Gibbs shook his head with fondness, not surprised at all by Ducky's questions.

"It's a mystery, Duck. We know it works, but don't know why."

"Has someone studied vampires' blood?"

"Yep. Vampire scientists have been studying it for decades, but so far no one has found a way to explain why it can heal humans and only if consumed directly from a bleeding wound, just as I did with Tony."

"Would you, would you allow me to take samples of your blood to study it?"

Gibbs smirked. "You draw my blood every year for my physical Duck… have you ever found something different in it?"

"No, but I might find it this time…" Ducky looked like a child begging his dad for a toy he had seen in a window shop and Gibbs had not the heart to deny him.

"Okay. You can have my blood and you too Abby, 'cause I know you're also dying to put it under your microscope. But you won't put my name on that sample and everything will be destroyed after you're done."

"Of course, Jethro."

"Yes, Gibbs."

"Good. Now, any more questions?"

"I've another one," Abby said quickly, as if she wanted to speak before the others could. "Well, two…Are you really immortal? Is Jackson a vampire too?"

"Yes, and no. Vampires can die only if they bleed out before they can heal themselves. As for Jack, he is human, but my mother was a vampire."

"Was…" Ziva murmured, "That means she died."

"Yes. She died bleeding out…the same thing that happened to my daughter."

"Oh, Gibbs," Abby said, and before he could move, she threw herself in his arms, hugging him hard. "I'm so sorry."

Gibbs hugged her too, and then gently pushed her back. He could hear the rescuers coming closer and it was almost time to end the conversation.

"Do you have a question, McGee?" he asked to the only person who hadn't said anything so far.

He saw his younger agent open his mouth, and then close it again.

"Spit it out, Tim. I'm not gonna bite you. As long you don't insert what you have you just heard in one of your books."

McGee's eyes widened for a moment, until he realized Gibbs was joking. "Do you have…any special power, Boss?"

Gibbs smirked. It was an appropriate question for Elf Lord. "I can't transform into a bat or dissolve in fog, if this is what you are asking. I'm faster and stronger than an average human, and my senses are sharper. I also can manipulate electrical currents and cause overloads. That is the reason I don't especially like power tools, or computers, but I'm no super hero. Does that disappoint you?"

McGee shook his head and smiled, "Not at all, Boss."

A loud thud echoed in the tunnel, as a cloud of dust rose from the wall of debris blocking the tunnel on the garage side.

"The rescuers are almost here," Gibbs said. "We've no more time to talk about this now. I know you've more questions, and you're welcome to ask them, to me or Tony, if you prefer; but never, ever in the Navy Yard. The existence of my kin depends on the fact people don't believe vampires exist and it must stay that way. As we all can attest, because we've seen it too many times on the job, people don't react well to what is different or unknown or perceived as dangerous. I need you to promise to me you'll keep what you learned today a secret .You must never mention this to anyone; family, lovers or friends. No one. Can you do that?" He asked, looking at each face on turn, searching for signs of hesitation or indecision.

He found none, so it wasn't surprising when, after a moment of silence; Ducky put a hand on his shoulder and said, "I can, Jethro."

"Me too, Gibbs," echoed Ziva and reached to touch his arm.

"Me too, Bossman," Abby whispered, before she hugged him tightly again.

"Me too, Boss," McGee confirmed before he shook his bosses hand.

Gibbs just nodded, relieved. He would have hated to have seen fear or distrust on their faces.

"Oh boy, this is so moving…" Tony's voice said in the silence that followed, and all the faces looked down and watched him open his eyes and grin.

"You're awake, Tony!" McGee exclaimed.

"Such a great deduction, McObvious!" Tony commented as he sat up.

"Are you all right?" Gibbs asked, studying his mate's face.

"I'm fine, Boss. Just a bit sore here," Tony replied as he touched the spot in his chest where the pipe had penetrated his body.

"I think it would be best if you let the paramedics take you to the hospital for a checkup, Anthony," Ducky said. "It is probably just some internal bruising, but better prudent than sorry."

Tony was about to protest, but a well-placed, although light, head-slap, stopped him.

"Okay Ducky," then Tony smiled over at his lover, "Boss."

In that moment the wall of debris that had interred them crumbled down and two firemen peeked inside.

"Are you all right?" one of them asked.

Gibbs gave a look at his people, saw their smiling, dust-covered faces nod at him, and he answered with a grin, "Never better."

THE END

OK, this story will be followed soon by "Failed Connection", which deals with the fallout of Gibbs' revelation to the team...yep, because things seldom work in the right way....:( On the upside, the story will be longer than this one and it will be M-rated. My beta told me the sex scene is smoking hot...so, stay tuned for it! ;P

"Failed Connection" is the last story in this Vampire! Gibbs universe...but I would like to know if there is something you would like to see happen in this universe. IE, as a writer, it often happens to me to imagine possible sequels to stories I liked as a reader, so I was wondering if the same thing happened to you with my stories. I would really love to write more in this universe (among the other things it would keep me busy in this sad period) and I'm hoping something will inspire my muse to get back at work. So well, if you have idea, please PM me them, OK?


End file.
